Few vehicles are better off-road than a Land Rover Defender. This is perhaps one of them – well, on sand at any rate – a sand rail buggy.
Built using only the parts from the official LEGO Icons 10317 Land Rover Defender 90 set, this excellent 10317 alternate is the work of Brian Michal, and includes suspension, steering, a detailed engine, a tricksy-looking roll cage, and a fatboy motorcycle.
Yup, Brian had enough parts left over after completing his minimalist sand rail that he could throw in a motorbike too! Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of both B-Models at Brian’s ‘10317 Sand Rail and Fatboy’ album.
Fast-forward five decades and we arrive at the U.S military’s modern equivalent of that Second World War Jeep, the ‘High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle’, or (more catchily) the Humvee.
Like yesterday’s Willys, this brilliant creation is constructed only from the pieces found within the 10317 Land Rover Defender set, and includes working steering, suspension, opening doors, and a few wartime accompaniments, including a hefty machine gun.
Previous bloggee M_longer is the builder, there’s more to see at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe, and building instructions are available too. Switch your 10317 set from rural England to Operation Desert Storm via the links above!
The original 1948 Land Rover (long before it was called a ‘Defender’) was a vehicle borne out of necessity. Luxury car maker Rover needed to restore revenue after the war, but with Europe in ruins and steel rationing in place, car production wasn’t going to get running for some time.
The need for a utilitarian off-road tractor was obvious though, and thus – with surplus aluminium and left-over airplane cockpit paint – the Land Rover was born. What is less known however, is that the first Land Rover prototypes used the chassis from another surplus wartime item; the Willys Jeep.
It’s fitting then that this incredible Willys Jeep MB, complete with a Browning machine gun and an M3 37mm anti-tank gun in tow, is constructed solely from the official (and excellent) LEGO Icons 10317 Land Rover Defender 90 set.
Built by TLCB Master MOCer Eric Trax, this astonishing alternate includes a range of wartime accompaniments, from the aforementioned weaponry to jerry cans, radio equipment, and ammunition boxes, with the beautiful Jeep itself also featuring steering and suspension.
The result is so perfect you’d never know it was built using such restricted parts – which makes it much like the original Land Rover – and there’s much more to see, including a link to building instructions, at Brickshelf and the Eurobricks forum.
Batman gets to ride/drive/fly some pretty awesome stuff. But when he’s not at work fighting the seedy underbelly of Gotham, Bruce Wayne might still want access to some cool machinery. Cue 1980SomethingSpaceGuy, who has repurposed the parts from the 42155 The Batman – Batcycle set into this stealthy cafe racer. A V4 engine, steering and suspension all feature, and there’s more to see of 1980’s 42155 B-Model at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.
Retro-inspired off-roaders are all the rage right now, with many buyers swapping their sleek modern-looking SUVs for vehicles with a more rough-and-ready pastiche. They’re still only used to drive to Walmart of course, but at least the parking lot looks more interesting.
Cue previous bloggee gyenesvi, who has recreated Ford’s newest/oldest model, the rather excellent looking Bronco, trading in an F-150 Raptor. And a Mercedes-Benz Zetros truck.
Yup, this superb fully remote controlled 2022 Bronco, complete with four-wheel-drive, steering, live-axle suspension, opening doors, hood and trunk, plus an ‘expedition kit’ for those particularly arduous trips to Walmart, is constructed only from the parts found within the official LEGO Technic 42126 Ford F-150 Raptor and 42129 Mercedes-Benz Zetros Trial Truck sets.
The bright orange body panels of 42126 and the Control+ remote control hardware (and wheels and tyres) from 42129 provide the perfect combination, with the model further enhanced by some excellent custom decals to recreate the Bronco’s distinctive front-end.
Building instructions for gyenesvi’s double B-Model Bronco are available and there’s lots more to see at both the Eurobricks forum and an extensive Bricksafe gallery. Click the links above to take a look, you can watch the model in action via the video below, plus you can click here to see gyenesvi’s previous alternate for 42129.
This is a Meyers Manx beach buggy, the definitive car-made-from-another-car. And so too is this superb Model Team recreation of the iconic ’60s design, which uses only parts from the excellent 10265 Ford Mustang set in its construction.
Built by Brian Michal of Flickr, this 10265 alternate includes steering, suspension, a removable roof, and – much like the real Meyers Manx – probably leaves a few parts from the donor vehicle left over too.
There’s more of Brian’s B-Model to see at his photostream, and you can switch your horse for a tailless cat via the link above.
No, really. Because this amazing looking Lamborghini Murcielago is constructed only from the parts found within the excellent 10295 Creator Expert Porsche 911 set.
Built by Lego-building legend Firas Abu-Jaber, who must be some sort of wizard, the pieces from the resolutely curvy Porsche have somehow been re-purposed to recreate the almost entirely trapezoid mid-’00s Lamborghini.
Opening scissor doors, accurate pop-up air-vents, a removable roof panel, and an opening engine cover and front trunk all feature, and this incredible 10295 alternate is available to build yourself thanks to the building instructions released alongside the model.
The complete suite of top-quality imagery can be viewed at Firas’ ‘10295 Lamborghini Murcielago’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found (or click here to jump straight to Firas’ own excellent website store), plus you can read his interview as part of our Master MOCers Series to learn how he builds astonishing models like this one via the second link in the text above.
Revealed here at The Lego Car Blog as part of the new Technic line-up for 2023, the new 42151 Bugatti Bolide set is not a TLCB favourite, being an expensive officially-licensed version of a car we hadn’t heard of, with limited technical functionality.
But that hasn’t stopped previous bloggee M-Longer, who has used 42151’s 905 pieces to create something rather better.
M_Longer’s fantastic 42151 B-Model, which not only looks far more appealing than the set from which it has been built, appears completely unconstrained by the Bolide’s 905 pieces. In fact the only giveaway to the model’s origins are a few upside-down stickers.
Better yet, the Bolide’s black-and-yellow colour scheme works a treat on this alternate, creating a Formula 1 car reminiscent of those that wore the Renault-Sport livery in the late 2010s.
Working steering and a V6 engine turned by the rear wheels feature, and there’s more to see of M-Longer’s brilliant Bugatti Bolide B-Model at both Bricksafe and Eurobricks, where a link to building instructions can also be found.
What’s better than a ’69? Two ’69s obviously. Cue Brian Michal, who has taken LEGO’s excellent 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 set and created another ’69 icon, the Ford Mustang Mach 1.
A performance package available on the first generation Mustang, Mach 1s were powered by V8s engines of 5.8, 6.4, or 7.0 litres, were fitted with upgraded suspension (although – we suspect – not nearly upgraded enough), and a 3-speed automatic or 4-speed manual gearbox.
A host of other options were available too, including Ram-Air, a Drag Pack, a ‘Traction Lok’ rear axle, and – as pictured here – a ‘Shaker’ hood. All of which sound marvellous.
Brian’s 10304 alternate captures the ’69 Ford Mustang Mach 1 superbly, with more to see at his Flickr album, where a link to building instructions can also be found should you wish to switch your own ’69 muscle car for another.
You wait ages for a bus and then two Mercedes-Benz 280 SEs come along at once. Or something.
This splendid classic Mercedes-Benz 280 SE is the work of recent bloggee FanisLego, who has built it only from the parts found within the LEGO 10258 Creator London Bus set. There’s a detailed engine and interior, opening doors, hood and trunk, and it can built as either a coupe or a convertible from the same parts source.
There’s more of Fanis’ excellent alternate to see at his ‘Mercedes-Benz 280 SE’ album on Bricksafe and you can take a look via the link above.
Ford and Chevy people seem – as is so often the way – so be very separate communities. Which is a shame, because without the unnecessary tribalism, both products can be appreciated together.
Cue TLCB Master MOCer Firas Abu-Jaber, who has constructed this excellent Ford Mustang Shleby GT500 from only the parts found within the official LEGO 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 set. Plus a set of more appropriate wheels in the image above.
Converting a Camaro into a Mustang may be considered sacrilege by certain quarters of the Chevrolet community, but fear not, Firas turned the 10265 Ford Mustang set into a Dodge Charger in the past too. See, there’s no bias here!
There’s more to see of Firas’ Camaro-based-Mustang B-Model at his ‘10304 Shelby GT500’ album on Flickr, and you can check out his previously-blogged Mustang-turned-Charger via the link in the text above if you’d rather see a Mustang taken apart than put together.
The LEGO Technic 42144 Material Handler is, whilst a decent set, rather pricey. In fact its pence-per-piece ratio makes it twice as expensive as a comparable set from just five years ago. Fortunately LEGO bricks are infinitely re-usable, and thus those expensively-priced pieces of plastic can be re-deployed repeatedly, unlocking unlimited models for free.
Cue previous bloggee mktechnicreations, who has repurposed his 42144 Material Handler set into this excellent container loader alternate, with pneumatic boom elevation and container locking, rear-wheel-steering, and working support legs.
Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of mk’s B-Model at the Eurobricks forum. Double the use (and half the price) of your 42144 set via the link above!
The LEGO Technic 42128 Heavy Duty Tow-Truck is big, heavy, and able to take a hefty load. Just like your Mom. With more than two-thousand pieces – including pneumatics – 42128 is also a rich source of parts for creating a B-Model, with two greattruck alternates featured here so far.
Newcomer Repkovsky has gone one better though – literally – having reconstructed his 42128 set into not one but two B-Models, which are able to be built simultaneously.
The first is a rather excellent material handler, complete with a two-stage pneumatic boom, a linear-actuator operated grab, working outriggers, steering, and a raising cabin.
The material handler has a vehicle to extract a load from/deposit a load into too, with Repkovsky’s second alternate being a neat tipper truck, which itself features working steering, a piston engine, and a linear-actuator operated tipping bed.
The pair are a brilliantly clever use of pieces, and there’s more of each alternate to see at both Bricksafe and the Eurobricks forum, where a video and a link to building instructions can also be found. Click the link above to claim your 2-4-1!
The LEGO Technic 42139 All-Terrain Vehicle revealed here earlier this year looks rather good, with loads of working features and more unusual source material than LEGO’s typical mid-size sets. Plus there’s a chainsaw.
But what if you don’t want to be a lumberjack? Latvian builder TGBDZmay have the answer, having turned their 42139 ATV set into this rather jazzy front loader.
Articulated steering, a pendular rear axle, a working piston engine, and a mechanical boom/bucket all feature, and you can build TGBDZ’s alternate for yourself as instructions are available, with more to see at the Eurobricks forum. Hang up your chainsaw via the link above.
How many models can the LEGO Icons 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 make? Lots, according to Tomáš Novák, who has already appeared here with his Chevrolet C10 pick-up 10304 alternate, constructed within days of the set’s release.
Tomáš has now converted his C10 truck, itself converted from the 10304 set, into this lovely early Porsche 911, which features opening doors, engine cover and front trunk, working steering, and a rather natty two-tone stripe necessitated by the source parts of the 10304 set.
Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of Tomáš’ 10304 B-Model at both Eurobricks and Flickr.
